A taste of the cruising life

Naousa Paros, Greece

Our friends Kathy and Carol left Berkeley East in the nick of time. While their final dinghy ride to catch the ferry was a bit wet, they missed the days of gusty winds that followed.

A week earlier, they arrived at the marina near Lavrio. “Our taxi driver said it’s been windy here,” they commented as they boarded the boat. We just smiled and nodded in agreement, as it was difficult to explain the previous week of Meltemi winds on that calm, sunny day. After a quick safety briefing, we pulled the dock lines and headed south to Sounion, the same anchorage we had hunkered down in for days during the Meltemi.

What a difference a few days make. Aside from the beautiful Temple of Poseiden high on the hill, it looked like a completely different place. It was calm. Too calm in fact, and BE rolled into the night. In the morning, it was clear that it had been a restless first night, but like all cruisers, we shook it off, went to shore and hiked to the temple.

A wild time in Kea

Visitors to Berkeley East typically want to experience what we do, so we try hard to give them a sampling of our cruising life. We had already been in the rolling anchorage, and the next day we were happy to include Kathy and Carol in one of our classic Greek docking adventures on the island of Kea. Once again, everyone walked away, so once again, we were successful. We were all happy to be on the dock in front of this nice little town, where we could plug into electricity and step off the boat for dinner. When the town’s power went out around 10 pm, the restaurant did not miss a beat; candles came out and plates of food continued to be delivered to tables. They had done this before. With the town shrouded in darkness, we went to bed early, only to be awakened at 2 am by bright lights and loud music when the power was restored. People gathered in the street behind BE, and on the boat next door, to party until dawn. Kathy and Carol were having such luck to have yet another typical cruiser experience. But the sleepless night was quickly forgotten as we climbed through the alleyways in Chora, our first real look at quintessential Greece. Little white houses stacked on a hillside, friendly Greeks eager to help us learn their language, a smiling 6thcentury BC lion carved into the rock. It was just beautiful. When asked whether they wanted to stay on the dock another night, or move out to the anchorage, our guests quickly chose to anchor. And there, we had one of the best types of cruising experiences: a nice swim and a good nights sleep.

Sailing to Syros

Of course sailing is considered a standard by which the cruising life is defined. About 15 knots on the beam, calm seas, clear skies, this is what is desired, and expected. Sadly, it is something that does not happen often, especially in the Med. In fact, some guests leave BE without ever seeing her sails. But on Kathy and Carol’s fourth day, we delivered the perfect day of sailing to the island of Syros. They were getting the whole cruising life experience.

Syros is not a typical tourist destination, and it is not on the charter boat circuit either, so we were able to experience the island from a more local perspective. Restaurant recommendations from the clerk in a clothing store, sightseeing advice from a man simply walking down the street, taxi assistance from the woman working in the church, we felt welcome and at home.

Riding the waves to Paros

Our last move with Kathy and Carol was south, to Paros. The wind was coming from the north so running away from it was the best option. We sailed quickly, with just the Genoa; another coveted cruising experience. Unfortunately, the waves were big and sloppy, so Berkeley East also delivered the less sought-after rolling passage.

As we turned into the anchorage on Paros, we watched a departing boat pound into the waves and at that moment decided we would not move north to the main town, we taxied instead. And it was in the taxis that we learned more about Greece today than we had from any article or book. We’re not certain if Greek taxi drivers are just chatty, or if they are taught to be the local tour guides, but talk they did. One told us how the island is being denied valuable resources because older Greeks do not want to use windmills for energy. He said with enough windmills, they could make all the power they need, since they have wind year round. Another driver talked about how the Euro killed the Greek economy. He said that when Greece had the Drachma, it was inexpensive and tourists could afford to visit the islands, but the Euro made the country too expensive and tourism declined, which is one reason for the economic crisis. When asked about unemployment, yet another taxi driver told us that with the crisis came a freeze on construction and 30% of jobs went away.

On Kathy and Carol’s last night on Berkeley East, we cooked a typical cruiser’s dinner onboard and recounted stories from our travels. It had been a very good week. They got to experience a wide variety of things that we do in our cruising life. And they proved that they would be excellent cruisers. Carol said that there were several things they would take away with them to incorporate into their life on land. He said they wanted to buy two-way radios so they could be in constant communication, make a laminated check list so they never forget to do something, and buy large yellow slickers so they can stay dry. That night was very windy and very noisy, another sleepless night. And in the morning, one last cruising experience: the wet dingy ride to shore.